IEEE BYTE VOLUME-3 ISSUE-1 | Page 10

3
By​ ​listening​ ​to​ ​strongest​ ​gravitational​ ​waves​ ​are​ ​produced​ ​by​ ​catastrophic​ ​events​ ​such​ ​as colliding​ ​black​ ​holes, ​ ​coalescing​ ​neutron​ ​stars​ ​or​ ​white​ ​dwarf​ ​stars​ ​and​ ​the​ ​remnants​ ​of gravitational​ ​radiation​ ​created​ ​by​ ​the​ ​birth​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Universe​ ​itself, ​ ​scientists​ ​can​ ​reconstruct​ ​the cataclysmic​ ​events​ ​that​ ​created​ ​them​ ​and​ ​gain​ ​information​ ​about​ ​the​ ​celestial​ ​bodies​ ​that generated​ ​those​ ​waves. Einstein’ s​ ​equations​ ​described​ ​a​ ​universe​ ​in​ ​which​ ​space​ ​and​ ​time​ ​were​ ​dynamic. ​ ​Space-time could​ ​stretch​ ​and​ ​expand, ​ ​tear​ ​and​ ​collapse​ ​into​ ​black​ ​holes​ ​— ​ ​objects​ ​so​ ​dense​ ​that​ ​not​ ​even light​ ​could​ ​escape​ ​them. ​ ​The​ ​equations​ ​predicted, ​ ​somewhat​ ​to​ ​his​ ​displeasure, ​ ​that​ ​the universe​ ​was​ ​expanding​ ​from​ ​what​ ​we​ ​now​ ​call​ ​the​ ​Big​ ​Bang, ​ ​and​ ​it​ ​also​ ​predicted​ ​that​ ​the motions​ ​of​ ​massive​ ​objects​ ​like​ ​black​ ​holes​ ​or​ ​other​ ​dense​ ​remnants​ ​of​ ​dead​ ​stars​ ​would​ ​ripple space-time​ ​with​ ​gravitational​ ​waves.
Right​ ​now, ​ ​our​ ​telescopes​ ​can​ ​only​ ​see​ ​objects​ ​that​ ​emit​ ​electromagnetic​ ​radiation. ​ ​But​ ​some objects, ​ ​like​ ​colliding​ ​black​ ​holes, ​ ​don ' t​ ​emit​ ​any​ ​electromagnetic​ ​radiation. ​ ​Instead, ​ ​they​ ​emit gravity. ​ ​And​ ​that ' s​ ​why, ​ ​with​ ​gravitational​ ​wave​ ​astronomy, ​ ​hard-to-detect​ ​objects​ ​in​ ​the​ ​universe— ​ ​like​ ​black​ ​holes​ ​and​ ​neutron​ ​stars​ ​— ​ ​may​ ​soon​ ​come​ ​into​ ​clearer​ ​focus. Michaelson’ s​ ​Interferometer​ ​Experiment​ ​for​ ​detection​ ​of​ ​luminiferous​ ​Aether​ ​was​ ​the​ ​foundation of​ ​the​ ​LIGO​ ​Project. LIGO​ ​boasts​ ​two​ ​specialized​ ​detectors​ ​in​ ​Washington​ ​and​ ​Louisiana, designed​ ​to​ ​pick​ ​up​ ​these​ ​ripples. ​ ​LIGO​ ​is​ ​the​ ​world ' s​ ​largest​ ​gravitational​ ​wave​ ​observatory​ ​and a​ ​cutting-edge​ ​physics​ ​experiment. ​ ​What​ ​LIGO​ ​is​ ​looking​ ​for​ ​is​ ​evidence​ ​that​ ​gravitational waves​ ​are​ ​distorting​ ​spacetime​ ​enough​ ​that​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​arms​ ​becomes​ ​temporarily​ ​longer​ ​than the​ ​other.
Prospects 1) ​ ​Seeing​ ​farther​ ​back​ ​in​ ​time​ ​due​ ​to​ ​the​ ​special​ ​ability​ ​of​ ​LIGO​ ​and​ ​VIRGO​ ​of​ ​listening​ ​to the​ ​gravitational​ ​waves 2) ​ ​Improving​ ​on​ ​Einstein’ s​ ​theory​ ​of​ ​general​ ​relativity​ ​as​ ​it​ ​is​ ​inconsistent​ ​with​ ​Quantum Mechanics​ ​and​ ​determining​ ​where​ ​it​ ​fails​ ​as​ ​it​ ​consistent​ ​with​ ​black​ ​holes. 3) ​ ​Discovering​ ​new​ ​neutron​ ​stars 4) ​ ​Learning​ ​how​ ​common​ ​it​ ​is​ ​for​ ​black​ ​holes​ ​to​ ​orbit​ ​one​ ​another 5) ​ ​Finding​ ​the​ ​source​ ​of​ ​dark​ ​matter​ ​and​ ​trace​ ​its​ ​origin. 6) ​ ​Finding​ ​new, ​ ​weird​ ​celestial​ ​objects​ ​such​ ​as​ ​cosmic​ ​strings​ ​( weird​ ​wrinkles​ ​in spacetime​ ​containing​ ​a​ ​massive​ ​amount​ ​of​ ​energy)
References
· ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​www. ligo. caltech. edu · ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​www. spaceplace. nasa. gov · ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​www. nobelprize. org · ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​www. vox. com · ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​www. newyorker. com · ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​theatlantic. com · ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​theverge. com